Month: January 2023

  • An Exploration of American Politics

    An Exploration of American Politics

    On Tuesday 31 January 2023, we had a return visit by our local expert in American Politics, John Matlin. In addition to his expertise in the subject, he is also a published author with novels in the field of American life. We cannot go into the detail of what John said, as that would be…

  • Dutch Townscapes in Art

    Dutch Townscapes in Art

    Having covered Seascapes and Landscapes over the last couple of weeks, focus moved this week to the Townscape. A packed audience heard our resident expert Jennifer talk about the works of Vermeer, De Witte, Berckheyde, Saenreden, Van der Heyden, Fabritius and Dou. We learned that Vermeer has only 35 paintings to his name of which…

  • Visit to Freemasons’ Hall Central London

    Visit to Freemasons’ Hall Central London

    A select party of members attended the Quirky Visit on 26 January 2023 that our U3A made to the Freemason’s Hall in Great Queen Street, Central London. This location has hosted meetings of Freemasons since 1775, although the current building was opened in 1933 having been constructed as a memorial to the thousands of Freemasons…

  • Planning, Protocol and Presence Sorted

    Planning, Protocol and Presence Sorted

    The Speaker at our Monthly Meeting on Wednesday 25 January 2023 was David J Pearson, Fellow and Past Chairman of the Guild of Professional Toastmasters, and currently Principal Training Officer of the Professional Toastmasters’ Academy, London. David explained the duties and the expertise that a Professional Toastmaster brings to any function. He outlined the benefits,…

  • Dutch Landscapes in Art

    Dutch Landscapes in Art

    Our course on the Dutch Golden Age of Art continued on Friday 20 January 2023 with a look at Dutch Landscapes. Those that have visited the Netherlands will know that there are limitations to landscape subjects in the country, but that has not limited their artists, some of whom travelled to Germany and Italy to…

  • The Dutch Golden Age

    The Dutch Golden Age

    On Friday 13 January 2023, we resumed our Art History Programme with more than 40 attendees. This time we will be looking at the Dutch Golden Age, but instead of the usual concentration on individual artists, we will be concentrating on the subjects of the pictures. The first lecture concentrated on the sea – the…

  • Prepare, Plan, Plant

    Prepare, Plan, Plant

    The first meeting of the Gardening Group in 2023 took place on Wednesday 11 January, and involved a talk based on the Prepare, Plan, Plant methodology. In addition there were short talks on Permaculture, Tomato varieties, and problems with fruit trees and their cures. Possibly the most beneficial time for the group was the discussions…